The Lon Chaney Collection: The Unknown (1927)

The Unknown is a popular silent film and an entertaining Chaney vehicle largely because Chaney's character, Alonso the armless circus performer, effortlessly uses his feet to throw knives, play guitar, and light and smoke cigarettes. (See the disc's excellent 85-min documentary, Chaney: [Man of] A Thousand Faces, to learn which stunts the actor performed himself in this and other movies. Watching The Unknown with the on-disc commentary by Michael F. Blake, author of three Chaney biographies who has seen the movie 100 times, also is worthwhile.) Until rewatching The Unknown and enjoying the disc's accompanying commentary and esp. the Kenneth Branagh-narrated documentary on Lon Chaney's life and career, I never realized the monumental character and grace this actor bestowed on a fledgling Hollywood. In this documentary, Ray Bradbury, Forrest Ackerman, 1920s moviegoers and others describe the masterful effect Chaney made on the world of cinema and on them personally. We see the makeup kit used by Chaney, who created and applied his own makeup for roles as varied as The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Phantom of the Opera, and London After Midnight. Beyond his genius for makeup, we also learn how naturally and utterly he created and conveyed his characters, whether they were grotesque ones baring the humanity they held buried inside (hunchback, phantom, vampire, clown) or apparently mundane ones with groundbreaking veracity and humility in their roles (underworld boss, Marine commander, ventriloquist). Chaney's face was so malleable and capable of convincingly conveying a range of emotions! London After Midnight was lost to fire in the 1960s so this disc's version consists of varied still shots that could not convey the full story for me even on multiple viewings. (A gun appears in one character's hand but not till a few scenes later are we told that a shot has been fired.) Chaney portrayed two roles in this film though I was totally confused until everything came together in the end. My initial reaction was to give these two silent films 3 stars each, however, on reflection this easily becomes 3.5 stars. The documentary easily receives 5 stars so overall I rate this disc, for its emotional impact, 4 stars.